House of Commons Debates VOLUME 146 Ï NUMBER 103 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 41st PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Friday, March 30, 2012 Speaker: The Honourable Andrew Scheer CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 6719 HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, March 30, 2012 The House met at 10 a.m. tabled, because of all the negative repercussions it will have on the Canadian public. Prayers [English] Today we are inviting Canadians to participate in this budget GOVERNMENT ORDERS debate. We are asking them to contact their NDP MPs directly, if they are lucky enough to have an NDP MP. If they do not have an Ï (1005) NDP MP yet, and hopefully that will change in 2015, then we are [Translation] asking them to contact an NDP MP in their region. They can do that by fax, email, Twitter, Facebook, or the old-fashioned way, by THE BUDGET phone. FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF MINISTER OF FINANCE The House resumed from March 29 consideration of the motion Given what we have seen in this budget, such as a forced that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the additional two years of working for those who can work, by raising government. the retirement age from age 65 to 67, and the service cuts taking Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP): Mr. place in a wide range of areas, in food safety, transportation safety or Speaker, I should warn my colleagues that I will go on at length environmental assessment, clearly we think Canadians should have about yesterday's budget. To begin, I will discuss some of the the last word. We encourage Canadians to participate in this debate. reactions from across the country to the budget that was tabled in the House yesterday. I know that our NDP MPs are hard-working, amazing MPs, many I will read some of the emails that we have received. I will also from the class of 2011 and one from the class of 2008. I must say share some other emails, tweets and reactions from the public. that, pound for pound, woman for woman, man for man, the NDP class of 2011 is the strongest class of members of Parliament ever to I will be talking for some time, so NDP members are inviting come into this House of Commons. They show this every day. members of the public to take a look at the budget and send their NDP MP—or a nearby NDP MP if they do not have one of their own —their thoughts about and reactions to all aspects of the budget that I want to read some of the feedback. I will be doing more of this the government tabled yesterday, such as the cuts to old age security later. I will talk about Canadians' initial reaction to the budget that —we hope that Canadians understand that people will have to work was tabled yesterday. We certainly have the Minister of Finance's two years longer—and the cuts to services, because the government spin on all of this, but how do Canadians feel? announced cuts to services in several different areas. We also invite Canadians to contact us through local NDP I would like to read from this document called “Initial Reaction”. members, by phone, fax, or email, and on Twitter and Facebook. We “Re: The public service cuts. The increase in hiring since the last would like to hear what the Canadian public has to say. We invite cuts was because we needed the positions filled in order to provide everyone to take part in this very important debate. service effectively to Canadians. The 19,200 cuts, and it is cuts regardless of what the government says because the positions will We saw yesterday's budget and we have had a chance to read it. not be refilled, those jobs are needed to provide the services As my colleagues know, the budget is so ideologically motivated required. I know personally of many, many public servants already that the NDP will be voting against it when the time comes. Of working overtime without compensation in order to get the job done. course, we will propose amendments, in the enduring spirit of Jack Now with further positions gone, services will be in crisis as will the Layton, our former leader, and in the spirit of our new leader, the remaining public servants. Burnout is already present in several hon. member for Outremont, who have both always maintained that departments and any satisfaction in the work we are doing is Canadian families' priorities must come first. That is what we will diminished by this government. All of this does not bode well for do. We will propose amendments. We will vote against the budget as services to Canadians.” 6720 COMMONS DEBATES March 30, 2012 The Budget Second, from my community of Burnaby, Mr. Walker writes It is a penny-wise and pound foolish budget. However, the regarding the draconian cuts that we are seeing to the Canadian government has tried to say that the budget is somehow designed to Broadcasting Corporation. He says: produce jobs, growth and prosperity. Therefore, we really need to I oppose severe cuts to the CBC. We need good public media to keep Canada start the discussion about the budget with how the government has connected. The proposed cut of $110 million represents the majority of the cost of done thus far. If the government is promising that the budget in some providing CBC radio, and much more than the current budget for all of CBC’s digital way is actually going to address issues around the loss of jobs and programming. This dramatic cut...will damage our news, our culture and our digital the profound malaise in which we find ourselves in terms of growth, economy. then we have to look at the government's record to date. I have an email from Alberta about the issue around the fisheries. I will get to the significant and draconian cuts to Fisheries and Oceans Canada later. This individual is from a Conservative riding in I mentioned this yesterday, but I think it is important to note again Alberta. Hopefully we will get that to change in the next election. today. In this extensive budget of 500 pages, there is a very key page The individual writes: that actually points to the government's admission that as a result of this budget, unemployment is actually going to go up. It is quite The government is rumoured to be considering amending section 35 of the Act which prohibits any works or undertakings that could harm fish habitat.... This is astounding that the government would put jobs on the front page of a problematic because the draft legislation would remove all references to fish habitat, budget that it knows is actually going to promote unemployment. which is vital to fish survival. Protecting fish themselves is of little value if they have The unemployment rate from 2011 will go up in 2012. no habitat in which to live and thrive. Ï (1010) We know about the 19,000 jobs that it is cutting. I mentioned The individual, a Canadian, goes on to talk about the draconian earlier one of the Canadian citizens who wrote to us expressing her cuts to Fisheries and Oceans. I can say, from the open-line programs concern about how seriously these public services are going to I participated in last night in British Columbia, that is a real concern deteriorate. Also, for each job that we lose in the public service we right across the west coast. lose another one in the private sector as well. Therefore, we are In British Columbia we are already under-resourced. We had a actually talking about nearly 40,000 jobs that would be lost in a very near collapse of the salmon fishery three years out of four. British short time frame over the next little while. Columbians have been clearly calling for substantial improvements in investments in fisheries and oceans, and for salmon enhancement Ï (1015) and fish monitoring. We are very concerned about the collapse of the salmon fishery in British Columbia. Yet, as this Canadian from How a government that is actively pushing a higher unemploy- Alberta has pointed out, what we are seeing instead is the wrong- ment rate and actively throwing thousands and thousands of public headed approach, as the government is moving to slash Fisheries and sector and private sector workers out of work could possibly pretend Oceans. That is simply unacceptable. that this is somehow a jobs budget is beyond me. I would like to read a third one. This is from an individual in Ontario, again not from an NDP riding yet. Obviously we are hoping I will now go to the government's record. I am sure the to change that. This person writes, “The federal government doesn't Conservatives on the other side are waiting with bated breath. I need to slash and burn the jobs and hopes of its citizens to balance its should signal right away that this will not be the talking points from budget. What's at stake is the future of our young people, and of the Prime Minister's Office. This will be something I know folks on course the ability of our government to help preserve the the other side of the House fear because they have certainly done environment of our planet.” massive cutbacks to Statistics Canada. I will be giving real facts, and We are receiving emails and comments as a wide variety of that is important.